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•Says Finance, ICT in hands of S’West
From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Arewa Economic Forum (AEC), a Non-Governmental Organisation, spareheading north’s socio-economic rebirth, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately retrace his steps and give his appointments a national outlook by downplaying ethnic considerations in his selection.
The body charged him to ensure his appointments reflect national character and ultimately achieve national cohesion.
The Chairman of AEF, Ibrahim Shehu Dandakata, at a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, said it was worrisome to see that the Finance and Information Communication Technology (ICT) sectors of the country were manned by south westerners at executive and legislative levels.
“We are afraid to state that a situation whereby the appointees in crucial economic sectors are not only from the Southwest but also connected to the Lagos axis suggests a deliberate ‘Yorubanisation’ and ‘Lagoslisation’ of the polity”, Dandakata stated.
He further alleged that President Tinubu has been systematically weeding out northerners in major ministries, departments and agencies and supplanting them with south westerners, especially those from Lagos.
Dandakata further said, “We have observed that the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, and the Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Folashodun Shonubi, are both from the Southwest though we admit that they are eminently qualified for their respective positions.
“The Minister of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, is from the Southwest and even the Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT, Senator Afolabi Salisu, and that of the House of Representatives, Adedeji Olajide Odidiomo, are also from the southwest. “It must be added that even some agencies in the Finance and ICT sectors whose chief executives were removed like the Customs and NIMC were replaced by people from the Southwest.
“There is even confusion on the recent appointment of Bisoye Coker-Odusote, from Lagos as acting DG NIMC, after Aliyu Abubakar Aziz was asked to go on retirement leave.
“The presidential directive stated that after acting for three months, Coker-Odusote would then immediately resume as substantive DG for a full tenure.”
This is curious and unprecedented. If the President could not allow the most senior director in the Commission to act for some time, he should have instructed Madam Coker-Odusote to resume her four-year tenure immediately instead of making her enjoy an extra three months.
This is capable of setting a bad precedent in public service appointments”.
He commended the President for retaining some chief executive officers of leading agencies in economy and ICT like Bello Hassan of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and Kashifu Inuwa of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
“We believe that more competent, qualified and experienced technocrats from the north can also be appointed to head crucial sectors of the economy.
“There is however palpable fear that more northerners may be recommended for removal and their replacements may take a similar pattern.
“It is not too late for Mr. President to turn the corner and do the needful in upcoming appointments and crucial decisions”, Dandakata added.
He said that President Tinubu has a duty to not only be fair to all parts of the country but also to be seen to be fair to all parts.
Asked why his group maintained a pin-drop silence when former President Muhammadu Buhari ran a clannish administration that was tilted northwards, Dandakata said the AEF was not formed then.
He further cautioned that wrong precedents should not be encouraged or sustained.
He noted that sense of inclusiveness was key in nation building.
“We expect President Tinubu to be fair, just and equitable in his decisions not only because the Northerners overwhelmingly voted for him but because that is the right thing to do”, he added.
On land border closure, he urged president Tinubu to reopen them because losses have exceeded N13 billion weekly.
“It is a terrible situation. The United Nations said if the borders remain closed, there will be a catastrophe.
“Trucks are still stuck at borders, losses mounting, farm produce not evacuated. It’s a tragedy.
“We don’t pray refugees don’t flood into Nigeria. We already had farming issues in the Sahel due to insecurity and with this crisis, it’s a double whammy”, he stated.
